BROOKLYN, NEW YORK—Federal prosecutors on Sept. 4 sought to disqualify a former U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) official who is now the lead lawyer defending Chinese tech giant Huawei in a case alleging the company of bank fraud and sanctions violations, on the grounds of conflict of interest.
Prosecutors told Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in the eastern district of New York that Huawei lawyer James Cole previously worked as the No. 2 official in the DOJ, meaning that he had access to confidential information that he can use against the federal government in the current Huawei case.
